Insights, Impressions, and Opinions
by Artisticmom2
Summary: A series of characters' personal thoughts coinciding with each episode of Enterprise. These thoughts will help clarify both the seen, unseen, and action that the writers should have written for the screen. Chapters range from G - R. Most major characters will be seen at some point.


A/N:

As stated before this is a series of chapters of characters' thoughts written after each episode has finished. I challenged myself to keep each chapter at around 1000 words for both succinctness and ease of writing. Not every character's thoughts will be shared on every chapter, only those that seem most relevant to the episode.

Please note that while I am challenging myself to keep to 1000 words per episode any double episodes will be posted together as one chapter and will therefore be 2000 words.

Many Thanks to Tish for playing beta.

And of course, I don't own anything relating to Star Trek etc and am making no profit by the writing of this story.

* * *

Broken Bow Part 1:

Jonathon Archer was frustrated as he roughly shoved his few belongings into his new desk on board _Enterprise_. Hell, he was mad too, both at the Vulcans and at himself. At every turn the Vulcans seemed to only want to thwart the warp program while under the guise of "helping", of "guiding". When would humanity ever be free of them? And what was worse, Soval and company had goaded him into boasting he could be ready to leave in three days. He knew better than to speak in front of them before he thought. Enterprise wasn't ready yet, and his senior staff wasn't complete.

He tossed the empty box onto the floor and sat down in his new chair, testing it out. He had asked the Denobulan doctor on a whim and he knew full well that Hoshi wouldn't be ready to leave for another three weeks when finals were done. At least there, with the Klingon language database the Vulcans had so _graciously_ given them, he knew he might have a chance of coaxing her to join him on Enterprise. Otherwise he knew full well that his powers of persuasion were almost nil with her.

Smiling to himself he recalled their last argument over Earth politics. Not surprisingly, he had lost. But that was yet another reason he wanted her by his side on this risky voyage. His life was full of people acting as either roadblocks, or "yes men", and out there in space he wanted someone he could trust other than Trip. Hoshi and Trip had been his friends for a long time and neither of them ever hesitated to tell him exactly what they thought even when they were sure he wouldn't like it.

He sighed and sat back surveying his new ready room, "At least I get to bring my dog," he thought to himself with a small smile.

STSTSTSTSTSTST

Trip Tucker was euphoric and scared stiff in turns. He had been mortified as he scratched the paint on the first guided tour of _Enterprise_ he gave his friend and captain, but ecstatic that they were finally leaving Earth to try out the engine he had worked so hard on building and tweaking, and he was anxious to see how she responded in the field and not just in the lab. He's Chief Engineer under the command of his best friend, Jon Archer, yet now must deal with not only a prig of a Brit but a Vulcan spy on the senior crew!

At least the rest of the senior staff seemed to have shaped up rather well. He was inclined to like Mayweather and was interested to know more about his life as a boomer. The young ensign was reputed to be a wonder at the helm and quite frankly, he didn't want some untried desk jockey with clout coming on as First Pilot and inadvertently damaging the ship, and by extension, his engine. The helm of Earth's first warp ship needed someone with an experienced hand. As for the doctor, well, he was an interesting character, but at least he seemed friendly and had a sense of humor. Not like that Vulcan. "Man, she has a stick up her ass," he thought as he finished checking the diagnostics on the warp core.

And, of course, he knew Hoshi from before _Enterprise_. While he liked her sharp wit and playful banter he was a little hesitant to see how she worked out on board an active space voyage. Jon had confided that she hadn't done well in the space portions of her Star Fleet training. She was claustrophobic _and_ agoraphobic, how that worked out he didn't understand, but she was the best linguist Earth had to offer. And then, he shook his head as he studied the read-outs, he was pretty sure his best friend was sweet on her. Even if Jon denied it to his face, Trip had had suspicions for the last several years. He didn't think Hoshi thought of Jon as anything more than a big brother and friend, but as for Jon's feelings, Trip wasn't so sure. How this crew, this mission, was ever going to work out was beyond him.

STSTSTSTSTSTSTST

Malcom Reed stood in his new armory diligently rechecking reports, ensuring everything was in order, but he was already disgusted. Commander Tucker was a fly by the seat of his pants kind of man and, if the rumors about Jonathan Archer were true, so was the captain. He had overheard several of the ensigns in the armory discussing how Captain Archer was perceived as the new "John Wayne." There wasn't a Brit alive, even in this day and age, who didn't know the persona of the "Old American Wild West", and while in that venue that behavior wasn't inappropriate, for a starship, it was reprehensible.

And then there was the rest of them. A space boomer for a pilot; everyone knew they were little better than the Earth gypsies of old. Undisciplined lot. A Vulcan science officer; he knew she was in reality a spy and there to foil their maiden voyage. The Denobulan doctor, well, he was an unknown, but he seemed rather…..how did his father used to phrase it? Lackadaisical? Yes, that was it, he seemed lackadaisical and altogether too holistic. What was wrong with standard procedures?

And last, but not least, was little Ensign Sato. He snorted to himself. She may have been a language prodigy but she had absolutely no place on board a starship. She was too green and too civilian. Hoshi was obviously unaccustomed to following Star Fleet rules and regulations. Look at how she addressed the captain when she thought no one else was in earshot. And the captain shows too much familiarity with both her _and_ Commander Tucker. A ship was no place for friendships. How was _Enterprise,_ Earth's first warp 5 starship, ever going to make its mark in the universe with this motley crew?

* * *

Broken Bow Part 2:

Sub Commander T'Pol stood in her new quarters and quietly surveyed the room. She supposed it would be adequate for her needs for this mission, however long that might be. She moved to the bedside and opened her case of possessions. Carefully removing her mediation candles, she placed them around the room, thoughtfully pondering her mission and her new crewmates.

She was unsure of why Ambassador Soval had initially pushed to assign her here and then acquiesced so quickly when she requested to stay. It would have been more logical for a male to have been assigned, their sense of smell was less keen than the females of their species. T'Pol had endured a nasal block procedure before departing the Vulcan Compound. It had been, and continued to be, slightly uncomfortable. Then there was the fact that by her species' reckoning, she was actually quite young. An older Vulcan would have been more appropriate, less malleable to the Humans' ways. She paused in the act of storing away her few clothes. Was that why she was here? To learn more about Humans' ways and mannerisms while under stress? Was she supposed to report these things to her superiors or was she here merely to be their science officer in exchange for the Vulcan star charts and database? She contemplated this for a moment, and could not come up with a logical answer. With a slight flaring of her nostrils, T'Pol pushed this dilemma from her mind.

She placed her now empty case away and began the soothing act of lighting her candles; she had little hope for this mission on a long term scale. While the initial foray into space had concluded with the successful return of the Klingon to Kronos, there had been difficulties. The crew that Captain Archer had chosen was too disparate to work well together. Even the doctor, whom she had read positive reports on through the Vulcan Medical Exchange, seemed too eager to strike off haphazardly with little forethought and patience.

The Chief Engineer was openly hostile to her initially and they had argued repeatedly, vehemently. Despite that fact, there seemed to be a grudging respect forming between them, and she was disturbed at how easily this particular Human had disrupted her internal peace.

She turned her thoughts to the pilot Ensign Mayweather. He seemed too young even by Human standards. Lieutenant Reed impressed her a little with his strict adherence to protocol but even with the nasal blocks she could tell that he found her attractive, which was tedious. And while the linguistics officer was truly a prodigy Ensign Sato was too nervous to be suited for long term space travel. It was apparent to her that the captain had shown blatant favoritism when assigning Hoshi to_ Enterprise_.

T'Pol sighed and sat down in front of her now lit candles. She tried to prepare herself for meditation. Yes, this particular mission had ended well, despite all the trials and tribulations. However Humans had no business in interstellar matters. She was certain that without her staying on board to subtly guide them this whole affair would end shortly and badly.

STSTSTSTSTSTSTST

Hoshi Sato flopped down onto her bunk and groaned. How had she let herself get talked into this? Yes, there had been a few high points for her during this mission with Klaang the Klingon but there had been far more low points. And those low points were embarrassing. Very. She groaned again as she thought of how she had continually reacted to the vibrations and sounds of _Enterprise_. No one else had been nervous. Even Jon 'I'm going to have to get used to calling him CAPTAIN' had seemed exasperated with her by the end of this mission.

She sighed and sat up. Hoshi threw back her shoulders, cleared her mind, and attempted to "channel" her favorite professor from grad school. He had always preached that when faced with a difficult passage the only logical course of action was to take one word at a time and no more. That, and to keep moving forward. She couldn't change what had happened, but she could strive to change her future. She would tackle each issue that came her way and stop fretting over all the others.

Hoshi stood up and started to remove her uniform to get ready for bed. Tomorrow's shift would come soon enough and she needed some sleep. She tried to focus on the fact that she had made significant headway with the Klingon language and many of its regional dialects, learning far more than what was available in the Vulcan database. She had even been chosen for the away team down to Kronos. And while she found Klaang rude and dismissive, talking with him had been exhilarating.

Then there was the chance to practice her Vulcan and her Denobulan language skills. The doctor seemed amiable enough and while she and T'Pol had gotten off to a rocky start she was sure that they could eventually come to a good working arrangement. Despite the fact that T'Pol was a repressed Vulcan she was also one of the few females of any species on board and Hoshi hoped that a nice camaraderie would develop.

As she climbed into her rack she thought back onto all her nervousness with_ Enterprise_ herself. While the motions, the vibrations, and the noises made her nervous, she realized that perhaps no one else was similarly affected because their 'tuning' mechanism was not as sensitive as hers. She'd acknowledged a long time ago that she was different; she was more than just a child prodigy. She was unusual in her abilities, and those sensitive ears had been able to pick out Trip's voice from all the interference when he was coming back to _Enterprise_ in that Sulliban ship. No one else could have done that, including the ship's sensors. She smiled in pride at that thought.

Rolling over, Hoshi gazed out the window….the port hole. She'd have to remember to start using the proper terminology. Her eyes widened and she moaned as she quickly covered her head with her pillow but not before her stomach lurched. The stars were going the wrong way. How did she ever let Jon….the CAPTAIN….talk her into this?


End file.
